The Bulls fell 4-3 in hotly-contested matchup that came down to a final third set in singles.
TAMPA (March 10, 2022) – The University of South Florida men’s tennis team (5-6)gave No. 23-ranked Middle Tennessee State (16-3) all it could handle before falling in a tightly-contested match, 4-3, Thursday at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts snapping a three-game win streak for the Bulls.
USFgained the early lead, clinching the doubles point by taking two of three matches. The Bulls’ stalwart duo of Rithvik Bollipalli and Bruno Oliveira claimed their match over the Blue Raiders’ No. 47 ranked duo of Oskar Brostrom Poulsen and Francisco Rocha in swift, 6-1 fashion on Court 1.
On Court 3, MTSU’s Chris Edge and Stepan Holis won 6-3 over USF’s Alvin Tudorica and Sergio Gomez Montesa.
To secure the doubles point, the Bulls’ No. 2 pairing of Chase Ferguson and Manuel Goncalves won the match 6-2 over the Blue Raiders’ Stijn Slump and Pavel Motl.
Ivan Yatsuk claimed the Bulls’ first singles point with a 6-4, 6-2 victory on Court 3 over No. 101 ranked Chris Edge to extend the Bulls’ lead to 2-0.
On Court 1, Ferguson fell to the Blue Raiders’ No. 69 ranked Rocha, 6-0, 6-2, to give MTSU its first point.
Not long after, No. 115 ranked Slump defeated the Bulls’ Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo 4-6, 2-6, on Court 2 to tie the match at 2-2.
On Court 4, USF’s Gomez Montesa and MTSU’s Holis split the first two sets, Holis winning the first set 6-2 and Gomez-Montes the second, 6-4. However, the hotly contested third set was claimed by Holis, 6-3, to give MTSU a 3-2 lead.
With the match on the line, Court 5 and Court 6 became the focus. On Court 5, USF’s Tudorica and MTSU’s Poulsen engaged in an extremely tight affair. Poulsen claimed the first set 6-3, but Tudorica fought back in the second set to claim it 6-4 and even the match. As the third set came to a close, Tudorica’s momentum served to his benefit and he claimed a 6-4 victory and the match to tie the team score at 3-3.
The match then sat on the shoulders of the Bulls’ Oliveira and the Blue Raiders’ Motl. Motl claimed the first set 6-4, putting MTSU on the precipice of the win. Oliveira battled back and claimed a heavily contested third set 7-6, winning the tiebreaker 7-2. In the final set Oliveira got out to an early lead, but Motl made a comeback and won the final set 6-3, clinching the match for the Blue Raiders 4-3.
Up Next
The Bulls continue their homestand at the Varsity Tennis Courts on Friday, Mar. 11 with a 1:30 p.m. start vs. Furman.
MATCH RESULTS
Doubles
1. Rithvik Bollipalli/Bruno Oliveira (USF) def. ROCHA, Francisco/POULSEN, Oskar (MTSU), 6-1
2. Chase Ferguson/Manuel Goncalves (USF) def. SLUMP, Stijn/MOTL, Pavel (MTSU), 6-2
3. EDGE, Chris/HOLIS, Stepan (MTSU) def. Alvin Tudorica/Sergio Gomez Montesa (USF), 6-3
Order of finish: (1, 3, 2)
Singles
1. ROCHA, Francisco (MTSU) def. Chase Ferguson (USF), 6-0, 6-2
2. SLUMP, Stijn (MTSU) def. Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo (USF), 6-4, 6-2
3. Ivan Yatsuk (USF) def. EDGE, Chris (MTSU), 6-4, 6-2
4. HOLIS, Stepan (MTSU) def. Sergio Gomez-Montesa (USF), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
5. Alvin Tudorica (USF) def. POULSEN, Oskar (MTSU), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
6. MOTL, Pavel (MTSU) def. Bruno Oliveira (USF), 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3
Order of finish for singles: (3, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6)
About Men’s Tennis
Be sure to follow USF men’s tennis on social media (Twitter / Facebook / Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information. Head coach Ashley Fisher will begin his sixth year at the helm of the program for the 2021-22 season.
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